Classic cars

The Austin Healey 3000 is another important and instantly-recognisable British classic. Practical, good-looking and with many to choose from, ther are a perfect classic convertible.

With a novel hatchback and Pininfarina design, the MG MGB GT is for many people the ultimate affordable British sports car.

The most numerous single model of automobile ever produced, the Beetle is one of the industry’s icons. Early models are prized for their purity but the 1302S showed Volkswagen’s capacity for updating the now decades-old model in its later days, installing MacPherson strut front suspension and a 1.6-litre “twin port” flat-four with a useful 50bhp. They remain popular and usable classics.

The Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow was a striking change from the Silver Cloud the preceded it. It was smaller, square, and unprepossessing. Rolls-Royce introduced the Silver Shadow II in 1976 (and the twin Bentley T2), which was essentially a Silver Shadow with rack-and-pinion steering, minor bumper differences, and a slightly firmer front suspension. The car cost in excess of £50,000 new and remained in production until 1980, at which point is was replaced by the long-running Silver Spirit